About Mark Strodl                                  My Interview  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EqTIPcYjMw  

I have spent my life asking one question:     Can art change the way we see the world?

For over five decades, that question has guided my work—from advertising and design to large-scale watercolor murals, public exhibitions, digital storytelling, and AI-assisted animations & storytelling.

I believe art should do more than decorate a wall. It should challenge us, surprise us, make us laugh, question our assumptions, and remind us of our shared humanity. Whether I am painting a seven-foot watercolor, honoring Native American history, exploring the freedoms that define democracy, or reimagining classic fairy tales for children, my goal remains the same: to create work that begins a conversation.

Watercolor is my first language. It is unpredictable, transparent, and unforgiving—qualities that mirror life itself. I paint on a monumental scale because some ideas deserve more than a glance. They deserve to be proud, surround us, challenge us, and invite us into the story.

The purpose has never changed: to inspire curiosity, strengthen literacy, preserve imagination, and encourage people to think for themselves. My work has been exhibited in New York City, represented in Chelsea galleries, and shown internationally. It has been shaped by decades in advertising, years of experimentation, and a lifelong belief that creativity belongs to everyone—not just those with the largest budgets.

As an artist, curator, and storyteller, I am less interested in providing answers than in asking better questions. If one of my paintings causes you to pause, smile, argue, remember, or see the world differently, then it has done its job.

Because art is not about certainty. It is about possibility.

Winning a Fellowship from the Château d'Orquevaux in the Champagne region of France has given me a wonderful perspective on life. Seeing worldwide, I think I have a deeper understanding of things and confidence in my narrative decisions. Maturity has given me vision; falling down has given me persistence, & our ideas prompt and help us all to see.